Trunk.



No. 787,236. PATRNTRD APR. 11, 1905.'

C. R. TURNER @L R. L. RYMAN.

TRUNK.

APPLIORTIDN FILED 0012.24.19o4.

N Inventor.

Witnesses Patented April 11, 1905.

CHARLES l. TURNER AND ROBERT LOF'lON l'lYMA'N OF MACON. (.EORGIA;

SAID HYMAN ASSIGNQR TO SAID TURNER.

TRUNK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,236, dated April 11, 1905.

Application filed October 24, 1904, Serial No. 229,778.

i i l i l United States, residing at Macon, in the county i the drawings.

ot' libb and State ot' Georgia, have invented a new and useful Trunk, ot which the t`ollo\v ing is a specification.

This invention relates to trunks, and has t'or its object to et'teet in a simple and convenient manner the automatic elevation ot' a tray by the opening ot' the lid ot' the trunk into such a position as to expose the open top ol the trunk t'or access to the interior thereot', while at the same time supporting the tray in position for access thereto.

Another object ot' the invention is to provide tor supporting and elevating a supplemental tray beneath the main tray and to provide for drawing said supplemental tray outward into position t'or access thereto and also to permit entire removal et' the supplement-al tray whenever desired without requiring any disconnection ot' the parts of the elevating means.

lt is also designed to provide tor the convenient removal ot the main tray without interfering with any ot' the parts ot' the elevating means.

l.Yith these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement ot` parts, as will be hereinafter more t'ully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, propm'tion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope ot` the claims without departingI from the spirit or saeriticing any o'tl the advantages ot' the invention.

Tn the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional view taken transversely across one end ot a trunk with the tray-supporting means ot' the present invention in position to support a main tray and a supplemental tray in an elevated position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the trunk-lid closed with the trays in their lowermost positions. Fig. 31s a crosssectional view on the line 3 3 of Fie'.

l is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line l i ot' `Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every ligure oi Preparatory to explaining' in detail the construction ot the present invention it will here be stated that duplicate tray supporting and elevating devices are employed, one at each end of the trunk, with each device pivotally supported upon the body ot the trunk and connected to the lid or cover Vfor actuation 6o thereby to raise and lower the trays with the opening and closing of the lid or cover, and theret'ore an explanation ol one ot the devices also applies to the other.

The present invention has been specially prepared with a view ot' application to any ordinary t'orln ot truuk, a conventional t'orm oi" which has been shown in the drawings and ldesignated l, with the usual hinged lid or cover 2. lVithin the trunk and in close prox- 7o imity to each end thereof are two substantially parallel bars 3 and i, having individual pivotal connections 5 and with the adjacent end ot' the truuk-body, there being washers T and interposed between the bars and the end ot the trunk. A crossbar 9 has its opposite ends pivotally connected to the upper ends of the bars 3 and l, as at l0 and ll, whereby the bars are connected and remain in parallelism during their swinging move- So ments upon the pivotal supports 5 and (l. ln the upper edge ol the cross-bar 9 are notches or depressions l2, lor a purpose as will hereinafter appear. A. link i3 is pivotally connected to the pivotpin between the bar 3 and 85 the cross-bar t), the upper end ot the link 13 being' pivotally connected to the inner side oit the adjacent end ot the lid ot the trunk, as at il, whereby the bars 3 and t will be simultaneously swung' up and down upon their piv- 90 otal support-s and (i by the opening and closing otl the lid or cover ot' the trunk. 1t will here be explained that the three bars and the link are ot' metal, and thereby comparatively thin, so as to atford the maximum clear space between the ends ot the trunk.

The usual main tray of the trunk is provided at each end with headed bearing projections 16 for engagement with the respective notches or seats 12 in the cross-bar 9, whereby the tray moves up and down with the bar and is maintained in a substantially horizontal position throughout its movements. By having the seats or notches 12 open at their tops the main tray may be readily lifted from the opposite bars 9 without interfering in any manner whatsoever with the elevating devices.

In addition to the main tray 15 it is proposed to provide a comparatively shallow supplemental tray 17, particularly designed for containing skirts, and in each end of this supplemental tray there is provided a longitudinal groove or way 18, which is closed at its front end and opens through the back of the tray. The purpose of this guideway is to receive the projections 19 and 20, carried by the bars 3 and 4, with the projection 2O located a slight distance above the projection 19, thereby to tilt upwardly the front end of the tray when the lid of the trunk is open in order that the tray may clear the top edge of the front of the trunk-body when drawn out from beneathfthe upper main tray 15 when it is desired to have access to the supplemental tray 17. By having the guideway 18 open at its rear end the projections 19 and 2O may be readily entered and removed through said open end, or, to be more correct, the tray 17 may be readily engaged and disengaged with respect to the projections. While the supplemental tray is capable of being entirely removed from the trunk, access may be had thereto without removing the tray by drawing it forwardly until it can rest upon the top of the front edge of the front body, in which position it will be projected sufciently in front of the upper tray 15 to permit convenient access to the top of the supplemental tray.

l/Vith the trunk closed, as in Fig. 2, when the lid or cover is opened, as in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the link 13 operates to swing the bars 3 and 4 upwardly, thereby elevating the two trays, the latter being maintained in substantially horizontal positions during their upward movements and the parts being so proportioned as to bring the back of the lower supplemental tray into contact with the back of the trunk-body, thereby to automatically project the lower supplemental tray in front of the upper tray 15. Vhen the lid or cover of the trunk is open, the two trays will be elevated to positions above the top of the trunk by the Operation of opening the lid, and the trays are supported in positions for access thereto, thereby obviating the necessity of individually lifting the trays out of the trunk and placing the same upon the floor or other support in order that access may be had thereto and to the interior of the body of the trunk. Upon closing the lid the bars 3 and 11 will be swung downwardly to the positions shown in Fig. 2, the front end of the supplemental tray 17 being beveled or rounded, as at 21, for contact with the top edge of the front of the trunk-body, so as to arrest the forward movement of the tray and guide the latter downwardly into the body of the trunk, while the projections 19 and 20 slide forwardly in the guideway 18 to accommodate for this movement of the lower supplemental tray.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the present invention may be applied to any ordinary trunk and has been constructed for application directly to the ends of the trunk and the ends of the lid without requiring any additional supports rising from the bottom of the trunk and projected from the ends thereof, whereby the two elevating devices will accommodate the maximum length of the tray which the trunkbody is capable of containing. Moreover, the device may be fitted in place without changing the trunk in any manner whatso-l ever, and when in place does not take up any unnecessary room, nor is it liable to injure the contents of the trunk.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. The combination with a trunk-bod y having a hinged lid, of tray-elevating devices at each end of the trunk and consisting of a pair of swinging bars pivotally supported upon the trunk and provided with lateral projections, a link connected to the lid and to the swinging bars, and a tray provided at each end with a guideway slidably receiving the projections of the swinging bars.

2. The combination with a trunk-body having a hinged cover, of tray-elevating devices at opposite ends ofv the trunk, each device comprising a pair of swinging bars pivotally supported upon the trunk-body and provided with lateral projections, the projection of the front bar being disposed above that of the rear bar, a link connecting the' lid and the swinging bars, and a tray provided at each end with a guideway slidably receiving the projections, the front of the tray being inclined upwardly in its elevated position.

3. The combination with a trunk-body having a hinged cover, of tray-elevating devices at opposite ends of the trunk, each device comprising a pair of swinging arms pivotally supported upon the trunk-body and provided with lateral projections, means connecting the arms with the lid, and a tray having each end provided with a guideway slidably receiving the projections, the rear end of the guideway being open for the reception and removal of the projections.

1. The combination with a trunk-body having a hinged lid, of tray-elevating devices at opposite ends of the trunk, each device being pivotallyv supported upon the trunk-body and connected with the lid, and a travv having a slidable connection with the respective elevatingl devices, the tray being disposed for engagement with the front of the trunk during the closing ot' the lid to slide the tray rearwardlvv upon the elevating devices and permit of the trav entering the trunk.

5. The combination with a trunk having a hinged lid, of tray-elevating devices atopposite ends of the trunk, each device being pivotallvv supported upon the trunk-body and connecting' with the lid for simultaneous movement therewith, an upper tray detachably supported upon the elevating devices, and a lower tra5v slidably and detachably Carried by the elevating devices and located below the upper tray. I

6. The combination with a trunk having a hinged lid, of a pair of vertically-swinging' bars pivotally supported upon each end of the trunk, projections carried by the bars intermediate of their ends, a cross-bar pivotally connecting the upper ends of the swinging bars and provided in its upper edge with a pair ot' notches, a link pivotally connected to the ulid and to the rear swinging bar. an upper tray provided at each end with a pair of projections detaehably received within the respective notches ot' the cross-bar, anda lower tray having a longitudinal slot in each end thereof and slidably receiving the adjacent projections, the rear endetl the slot being open Vfor the entrance and removal of the projections.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we havehereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

OHAS. E. TURNER, ROBERT LONDON IAIYMAN.

VitnCsSes:

HENRY SiLAs HYMAN, J. L. LUXFonD. 

